Johnson should probably shoot more. He only has 92 attempts this season in 31 games, down from 119 in 32 games a year ago. Krupalija takes too many ill-advised jumpers from the top of the key and has a tendency to commit silly fouls.

Archibald turned the ball over 43 times and has fouled out a team-high eight times. Harrington can go cold from three-point range and needs work on his defense.

One of the reasons the Illini (24-7) are a No. 1 seed and will be facing play-in winner Northwestern State (19-12) Friday in the first round of the NCAA Midwest Regional at Dayton Arena, however, is that coach Bill Self has the luxury of calling on his backups. He knows there's a good chance they won't let him down.

Self has described his bench as "one of the deepest in America" and an argument can be made for that.

Each player has had his moments of glory:

Johnson's physical style drove Arizona nuts in a December game at the United Center. He hit two clutch three-pointers in Illinois' big win at Indiana and he had a season-high 16 points in the Senior Day romp over Iowa.

Krupalija had 15 points and 12 rebounds in the second Northwestern game, seven rebounds at Indiana, and 13 points and nine rebounds in the home finale against Iowa.

Archibald played a big role in the pivotal victory over Michigan State with seven points and four rebounds. He had a combined 21 points and 19 rebounds in starts against Northwestern and Penn State when Marcus Griffin was hurt.

Harrington led the Big Ten in three-point shooting percentage and came to the rescue with 13 points at Minnesota to help the Illini clinch a share of the conference title.

Illinois' bench has outscored the opposing bench by nearly eight points per game. Its biggest strength is that each player brings different contributions. But what Self loves most about his subs is their selflessness.

"We've got guys who can make shots," he said. "We've got bangers. We've also got guys who understand their roles and are [without] ego. You can look at any of them individually--I hate to to say this--and there's not one guy where you can say you've got to do this or that to stop him. But as a group they play very well."

Assistant coach Rob Judson's theory is that the four players have responded in the clutch because they are used to the clutch. Archibald's Lafayette High team finished second in the Missouri state tournament his senior year. Krupalija's Rockford Boylan team made it the state semifinals once and the supersectionals twice.

Johnson and Maine West finished fourth in the state when he was a senior. Harrington is a coach's son who led Elgin to a sectional final.

Self believes the backups' confidence also stems from knowing exactly where they fit in the rotation.

"One thing players talk a lot about is chemistry," he said. "But if you have guys on the bench thinking they're not getting enough minutes, your chemistry is going to stink. What we have is an almost NBA-type rotation. Guys know why they're going in and why they're coming out. I'm not saying they always like it, but they're comfortable with it. I think these guys have taken great pride in their roles."

Self is just happy all the pieces fit together in his first year with a team he did not assemble.

"One thing I had a hard time with was figuring out whom to play," he said. "I'd say since right around Christmastime, though, I've been much more comfortable with the substitution patterns. Playing nine is nothing new for me. At Tulsa last year we had 11 guys who averaged six to 10 minutes a game. I've just been really fortunate the last two place I've been to have good guys coming off the bench."

Archibald said he wants to start, as do juniors Johnson and Krupalija and sophomore Harrington. With starters as talented as Frank Williams, Marcus Griffin, Brian Cook, Cory Bradford and Sergio McClain, however, Illinois' fearless foursome are willing to wait their turn.

"Starting next year is certainly something I'd like to shoot for," Archibald said. "I plan to work hard in the off-season. But we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Winning, not starting, was my No. 1 priority in coming here. If we win no one on this team cares who did what. All we talk about is that we won."